Novel compositions comprising a polyester resin which is the reaction product of at least one straight chain, branched, or cycloaliphatic C.sub.2 -C.sub.10 alkane diol or a chemical equivalent thereof and at least one cycloaliphatic diacid or a chemical equivalent thereof combined with a poly(ether ester) elastomer, a poly(etherimide ester) elastomer, a copolymer elastomer comprising (ether ester) monomers and (etherimide ester) monomers, a copolymer comprising (i) ethylene and (ii) one or more comonomers copolymerizable therewith to produce a solid copolymer have been discovered which have improved tensile strength.
Weatherable, UV radiation resistant, solvent resistant, resilient, high tensile strength, high impact polymers have great application in the manufacture of molded or thermoformed products such as automobile external parts, lawn and garden equipment, and sporting goods.
Crystallizable polyesters of cycloaliphatic diacids or derivatives thereof with aliphatic and/or cycloaliphatic diols have relatively high melting points and are quite UV resistant as they do not appreciably absorb near-UV light. Many of these polyesters were explored for use as hot melt adhesives. See, Jackson et al., J. Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 14, 685-98, (1970); U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,628.
Wilfong, J. Polymer Sci., Vol. 54, 385-410, (1961), referred to polyesters of hexahydro terephthalic acid, the cis-/trans-mixture of cyclohexanedicarboxylic acids obtained by the hydrogenation of terephthalic acid. See, Caldwell et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,930 including poly(neopentyl cyclohexanedicarboxylate); Carpenter, Journal of Soc. Dyers and Colorists, Vol. 65, 469 (1941).
Kibler et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,901,466, disclose linear polyesters and polyester-amides prepared by condensing cis- and/or trans-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol with one or more bifunctional reactants, which because of high melting temperatures, are advantageous for the preparation of fibers for use in fabrics and films for use as support for photographic emulsions.
Friction activatable solvent-free adhesives comprising a thermoplastic polyester derived from one or more saturated aliphatic dicarboxylic acid and/or aromatic dicarboxylic acids and one or more saturated aliphatic diols, a tackifier, and a plasticizer are disclosed by Wayne et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,600.
Jackson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,206, disclose a process for the preparation of poly(1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) polyesters with high trans-isomer content comprising heating, in the presence of a suitable catalyst, an ester of trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid and a diacyl derivative of an aromatic diol.
Liu, U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,380, discloses thermoplastic elastomeric molding compositions comprising a poly(etherimide ester) elastomer modified with a combination of poly(butylene terephthalate), a monoalkenyl arene-conjugated diene copolymer and a polycarbonate.
A major deficiency of the previous compositions has been their relatively low tensile strength. This disadvantage is overcome by the compositions of the present invention. The tensile strength at yield of the polyester resins of the present invention are improved by the addition of poly(ether ester) elastomers, poly(ethermide ester) elastomers, (ether ester)/(etherimide ester) copolymer elastomers, EVA type copolymers or combinations of any of the foregoing modifier polymers each of which has a lower tensile strength than the polyester resin.